It is widely known in current research that general anesthesia should not be given to a person with Williams Syndrome without great care. Yet his anesthesiologist, Dr. Kaya agreed to a signed document that she “was well-versed in the anesthetic risk associated with Williams Syndrome”. She then administered anesthesia to Rowan without taking any of the known precautions and did not administer Williams Syndrome appropriate life-saving procedures after Rowan’s cardiac arrest. Dr. Kaya is not considered a criminal. Instead, she is protected under the United States healthcare system. His cardiologist, Dr. Raymond Fripp, who insisted on using anesthesia to diagnose the very thing (coronary artery stenosis) that put Rowan at high-risk, is still practicing in high regard today. The Chief of Cardiology, Dr. John Moore, who falsified documents regarding the reason for Rowan’s death and the reason for his anesthetic procedure, is still praised among his peers. How is this possible?
We believe it is possible because the very people that are meant to oversee these doctors’ practices turned a blind eye to the crime that was committed (Donald Kearns, MD MMM, Rady Children’s Hospital; Christopher J Durovich, James E Schmerling, Children’s Hospital Association). The very establishments these doctors work for feed their hubris, while showing them that they will be immune to their own mistakes and ignorance.Rowan had a high-risk of sudden death if given general anesthesia. Otherwise, he was a happy and energetic toddler whose heart was built differently than yours or mine. If I was notified of the risk of a child’s peanut allergy solely by her parents, and I dismissed their concerns and intentionally fed that child a bowl of peanuts, I would face criminal charges. Yet doctors of patients with Williams Syndrome routinely give anesthesia to these children without precaution, despite protests and concerns from their parents. And when those doctors kill a child, they are protected? We ask, how and why is this possible?
We have faith that you, our community and our society, will continue to right this wrong for those who are still lucky enough to have hope.

Rowan was killed at a renowned children’s hospital as a direct result of the careless and unnecessary use of general anesthesia for a “routine” outpatient diagnostic procedure .. against his mother’s wishes.

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